William CHIN (aka William CHAN / 陳耀芳 / Yau-Fong CHIN) [1915-1945] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

William CHIN (aka William CHAN / 陳耀芳 / Yau-Fong CHIN) [1915-1945]

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Submitted by Sweeties.honey.391 on Mon, 2021-08-02 13:23
Names
Given: 
William
Family: 
Chin
Alias / nickname: 
William CHAN / 陳耀芳 / Yau-Fong CHIN
Sex: 
Male
Status: 
Deceased
Birth
Date: 
1915-12-13
Birthplace (town, state): 
Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts
Birthplace (country): 
United States
Death
Date: 
c.1945-12-31 (Month, Day are approximate)
Connections: 
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1937
1939
1939
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Submitted by emride on Mon, 2021-08-09 11:56.

[David: I asked Elizabeth Ride if her BAAG records had any mention of William. She replied:]

I suppose we cannot be sure that this is the same man, but in my records I have noted that a William Chan is mentioned in John Luff's book The Hidden Years:

  • On page 203 - "Working among the group in Hongkong was William Chan, a businessman who left Victoria in 1942 and joined the BAAG.  On his return to Hongkong his assignment took him to the Prince’s Cafe in Queen’s Road, a meeting place of Japanese special agents.  Chan sat among them, listened to their conver­sations, his primary object at that time being to discover who was betraying BAAG agents."
  • On page 205 -"  William Chan, who had been keeping an eye on Japanese agents, met Wong (a traitor) in Nathan Road during August 1942.  Chan asked Wong if he thought the Allies would win the war.  Wong replied that the British were well beaten and would remain that way.  Later in the year, Chan again met Wong.  On this occasion, Wong boasted that he had tracked down a BAAG radio station at Shamshuipo.  When the Japanese raided the house, there was no trace of a radio set.  It slowly dawned upon Wong that William Chan must have warned the operators."

Lai Kit worked with the Japanese, and betrayed several other BAAG agents.

Best regards,

Elizabeth.

Submitted by David on Mon, 2021-08-09 12:11.

Amy forwarded this clipping from Alfred Ho that mentions her grandfather. The clipping isn't dated but I guess it's from the SCMP coverage of Lai Kit's trial in 1946:

grandfather dead news.jpg
grandfather dead news.jpg, by Amy

 

The text reads:

Death Bed Declaration

A death-bed declaration by her son, William Chan, was related by his 64-year-old mother, Lau Tung-tai, who said she last saw her son in Kwong Wah Hospital in June, 1945. William was not likely to recover and he himself did not think he would live.

Mr Smith asked the Court's permission to accept William's dying declaration as it was made under abnormal circumstances.

Mrs Lau told the Court that William told her he was arrested by Lai. Mrs Lau identified Lai as the person who had been staying in her house for sometime waiting for the return of her son.

Florence Chan, Sister of William, gave detailed evidence of the arrest of her brother and the interview she had with him while he was in serious condition in the hospital.

"While William was in hospital, he had changed so much for the worse that I could not recognise him till I had a close look A few days after my visit, William died," she concluded.

 

The local Public Records Office has the original documents from Lai Kit's case, which may have the full statements from his mother and sister, and so provide more detail: 

https://search.grs.gov.hk/en/search.xhtml?q=lai+kit&e_k=on&title=&f_ori_...

Submitted by Sweeties.honey.391 on Mon, 2021-08-09 16:26.

Dear David and Elizebeth

Thank you for your information. Its correct. I also have the copy the transcript. He was working for B.A.A.G  and he lost his life. Very thankful to your search. May I know where did you find this  information?? John Luff's book The Hidden Years. am I able to find online. I am in Australia and not able to go back to HK at this moment. This 190 Nathan Road Kowloon Building maybe demolishing soon. So I really hope any news that related to this building to persuade the developer to maintain the building or keep certain part of the building for the future generation in HK.

Although it is not ours, and we are living in Australia for many years. But I still think its history value should be rediscovered to the new geneartion. 

Thank you for both of your hard efforts to help us . Not a easy path to do so becuase its almost 75 years ago and the building future will be ending soon.

Best Regards

Amy (Australia)

I suppose we cannot be sure that this is the same man, but in my records I have noted that a William Chan is mentioned in John Luff's book The Hidden Years:

  • On page 203 - "Working among the group in Hongkong was William Chan, a businessman who left Victoria in 1942 and joined the BAAG.  On his return to Hongkong his assignment took him to the Prince’s Cafe in Queen’s Road, a meeting place of Japanese special agents.  Chan sat among them, listened to their conver­sations, his primary object at that time being to discover who was betraying BAAG agents."
  • On page 205 -"  William Chan, who had been keeping an eye on Japanese agents, met Wong (a traitor) in Nathan Road during August 1942.  Chan asked Wong if he thought the Allies would win the war.  Wong replied that the British were well beaten and would remain that way.  Later in the year, Chan again met Wong.  On this occasion, Wong boasted that he had tracked down a BAAG radio station at Shamshuipo.  When the Japanese raided the house, there was no trace of a radio set.  It slowly dawned upon Wong that William Chan must have warned the operators."

Lai Kit worked with the Japanese, and betrayed several other BAAG agents.

Best regards,

Elizabeth.

Submitted by David on Sat, 2021-08-14 13:17.

The Hidden Years was published in 1967. It is out of print, but it looks as though several second-hand copies are available to buy: https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Hidden+Years+by+John+Luff&oq=The+Hid...